The best time of day to work out is… whenever you can make time to work out

"Never exercise first thing in the morning when your joints are stiff," preaches one. "Never exercise in the evening because it ruins your sleep," preaches another.

With this kind of conflicting advice, you've probably wondered whether you're wasting your workouts because you're not doing them at the "right" time of day. So, when is the best time to workout?

Here’s the good news: the right time of day to exercise is whenever you can make time to exercise. First thing in the morning? Great. Last thing at night? That's great too — as is any time in between.

"The best time to workout is truly when you can fit it into your schedule," says Michael Cunico, the national fitness manager of Fitness First — which has just embarked on 24/7 training to allow its members to exercise at any time that suits them. Ideally, you exercise regularly and turn it into a habit – that’s the most important thing rather than time of day.

Exercising in the morning

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Is morning best for a workout? Australian fitness experts believe so. If you're lucky enough to have a flexible schedule, Cunico believes it's best to get your exercise knocked over early in the day.

"Research suggests those who train in the morning are more consistent," he tells Coach.

"This may be due to the fact that the only barrier to getting in a morning workout is you — there are no other excuses that you can offer, such as work or going out with colleagues or friends after a long day at work."

If you decide the best time to workout is in the AM, Cunico advises your body might need more prep time than it would later in the day, owing to cooler temperatures (particularly in winter) and stiff, tight joints and muscles yet to be roused into motion.

"Make sure to stretch and warm up your body ahead of a workout to get the most out of your training," he says — which will activate you mentally as well as physically.

Whether you eat before a morning workout depends on how well you tolerate food first thing.

"A four-egg scrambled omelette may not go down well an hour before your next HIIT class," Cunico warns. "But a banana may provide enough to get you though before hitting some scrambled eggs post-workout."

The exception to the rule

While the best time of day to work out is whatever time you can work out, Cunico notes there's one important caveat to this.

Say you're training for a fun run with a starting time of 6:30am — in that case, the best time to workout is at 6:30am.

"If your event happens at a certain part of the day, then training as close to this time as possible will most likely prepare you for the event better than training at the opposite end of the day," Cunico says.